Everyone keeps buying those cheap Kirby Morgan knockoffs and it drives me crazy

I see guys on job sites in the Gulf all the time using those $300 masks from China and they leak like crazy below 30 feet. Had a guy next to me in Port Fourchon last month waste an hour on a simple hull inspection because his face seal kept flooding. Spend the extra $150 on a real KM 37 and you won't have to fight your gear every dive. Anyone else notice the quality difference or am I the only one who cares about not breathing water?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_oscar9h ago

Spend the extra $150 on a real KM 37" - man, that's easy to say when you're not the one coughing up that cash. Not everyone's got that kind of money sitting around, especially when you're just starting out or working sporadic jobs. I've seen guys rock those knockoffs for months without issues if they take care of them and swap out the cheap parts. Sure, they leak sometimes, but I've also watched brand new KM masks fail because some o-ring wasn't seated right out of the box. Cheaper gear has its place, and it's a better option than skipping dive work entirely because you can't afford the premium stuff.

miab8712h ago

Did you see that video of the guy who tried to patch his knockoff with a condom? I mean, it worked for five minutes until it didn't.